1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for application of a hair product, such as a highlight product. The device according to the invention may be particularly suitable for self-application of a dyeing product to strands of hair.
2. Description of the Related Art
“Highlight” dyeing is a treatment in which only certain parts of the head of hair are impregnated with dyeing product. Once the dyeing treatment is completed, the head of hair obtains a non-uniform colour effect. Because the head of hair has colour shades brighter or darker than the natural or overall shade of the head of hair, some particular movements of the head of hair may become emphasized.
There are several types of dyeing products for hair. Exemplary types of hair dyeing products include temporary dyeing, semi-permanent dyeing, and permanent dyeing referred to as oxidation.
Dyeing products may be in the form of a cream, a foam, or a liquid with a more or less high viscosity. Dyeing products in liquid or gel form may be applied, optionally after mixing, by using a porous means such as foam (e.g., a foam sponge). The most viscous and the most paste-like products are contained in bowls after mixing a bleaching powder and an oxidant in the bowl.
In order to apply these products that are contained in bowls, known application devices use either a comb or a thin brush, or a combination of the two. Such devices are described, for example, in French Patent Publication No. 2,764,488 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,720.
At least some known comb and/or brush devices generally suffer from drawbacks, in particular, due to the fact that they are used by approaching the head of hair from its outside, that is to say, on top. As the applicator subsequently moves relative to the strand of hair from the root to the tip, the product is deposited essentially on the surface of the strand of hair, and not very much inside. During this movement, however, experience has shown that the user tends to lift the applicator and make it depart from a path following the curvature of the skull. For this reason, a number of hairs become separated from the applicator and fall back onto the head of hair. If, for example, a dyeing product is used, these hairs will not be dyed. The result obtained is sometimes far from satisfactory.
In the case of self-application of the product by a user, at least some known devices may be difficult for the user to handle and may make highlights difficult to apply on the rear of the head. This is because these devices may be difficult to position accurately when applying hair product to a portion of hair that is outside the user's direct field of view.
Furthermore, when using a thin brush and depositing a very paste-like product, it may be difficult to spread the product over the whole length of the strand of hair.
An additional known device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,705,499, which discloses an applicator in scissor form, having two branches hinged about a pivot. This patent describes a first branch having two comb rows, between which a pad impregnated with product is placed, and a second branch formed by a brush that can bear against the impregnated pad. Conventional applicators of this general type are expensive and complex to produce, since they are obtained by assembling a plurality of mechanical parts. Furthermore, the hinge of the branches of such an applicator often poses a problem when hairs or some of the product obstructs the hinge of the two branches.
In other conventional applicators, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,722,706 and German Patent Publication No. DE-28,34,801, the applicators are made from a glove or a fingerstall provided with a dispenser level with an inner face of the hand or the finger-bone. In these applicators, the dispenser is impregnated with product.
These conventional applicators also pose a problem, since they are made of a material that is necessarily different from the dispenser capable of coating the product. In particular, the gloves or fingerstalls of these applicators are made of an impermeable material, whereas the dispensers are made of materials that are permeable to the product. Furthermore, the gloves are not easy to handle for self-application of the product to the head, since the liquid with which the dispenser is impregnated can easily trickle down along walls of the glove without ever coating the head of hair. Fingerstalls, moreover, present an additional problem because they may inadvertently rotate around the finger, in particular during a longitudinal movement along a strand of hair.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for alternative approaches that may limit or avoid one or more drawbacks of the related art.